Dayton signs minimum wage boost into law

Joined by legislators, advocates, and Minnesotans from across the state, Governor Mark Dayton applauds speaker Peggy Flanagan, Executive director of Children's Defense Fund Minnesota, after Dayton signed the minimum wage bill into law on Monday.(Photo: Forum News Service)

ST. PAUL – Tens of thousands of Minnesota workers have big raises coming their way.

Gov. Mark Dayton signed a new minimum wage law Monday that provides annual pay bumps for those earning the least. For some workers, it'll translate into a couple of dollars more per hour in a matter of years.

The raises start this summer. For large employers, mandatory hourly pay climbs to $8 in August, $9 a year later and $9.50 in 2016. Smaller employers will also have to pay more, reaching $7.75 per hour by 2016.

The law authorizes automatic raises in the years to come that will compensate for inflation. Unless state officials take steps to suspend the raises, minimum wage pay could rise by up to 2.5 percent annually beginning in 2018.

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